Tag: "We Came As Romans"

Michigan’s We Came As Romans have released the official video for their latest single, “Hope.”

Taken from the recent reissue of their Sophomore album Understanding What We’ve Grown To Be, which in addition to “Hope” includes two more new songs, the latest video from WCAR is their most high-gloss effort to date. The clip finds the band spreading their message of hope to downtrodden students and those who feel displaced by society alongside at least three separate performance setups. You can view the footage below.

If you enjoy “Hope,” but are still unsure whether Understanding What We’ve Grown To Be is the kind of album you need in your life, click here and read our official album review.

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We Came As Romans Release “Glad You Came” Video

We Came As Romans’ (WCAR) sophomore album, Understanding What We’ve Grown To Be, has been re-released for 2013 in a deluxe edition with three additional tracks.

Thematically, the album offers a comprehensive meditation on the challenges and struggles we encounter as we grow older, and the maturity that we gain from life’s calamities. Yet, the band retains the positive sense of camaraderie so familiar from their first album, To Plant A Seed. Among all of the bands within the metalcore scene, WCAR has defined themselves by creating a unique sonic niche, utilizing slightly altered metalcore characteristics, synthesizers, and clean, auto-tuned vocals.

Driving, syncopated patterns create a groove familiar to metalcore. However, lead guitarist Joshua Moore provides melodic phrases that flow over the groove and help create a distinct sound. Additionally, clean vocalist Kyle Pavone and screamer David Stephens compliment each other and deliver well-articulated lyrics. The high production value on the album helps to blend all of the elements together, though it also seems to cover up the main criticism the band consistently receives – Pavone’s lack of delivery during live performances. But his vocals work well here; the slight auto-tune and a generous amount of reverb create a nice change from Stephens’ screaming. Combined with arrangement elements such as breakdowns, melodic passages, lulls featuring synthesized groove patterns, and tempo changes, the music and vocals seem to mesh effortlessly.

In a well-executed display by a band that can distinguish itself from the rest of the ever-growing metalcore scene, Understanding What We’ve Grown To Be conquers the sophomore album jinx. While I wouldn’t say that it is better than their debut release, I will say that We Came As Romans have been able to produce a solid album that is not a carbon copy of their first.

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• We Came As Romans Release “Glad You Came” Video
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The Used may be about to embark on their Take Action Tour, benefiting the It Gets Better Project with We Came As Romans and Crown The Empire, but that hasn’t stopped them from releasing a lyric video for their b-side, “The Lonely” from their album, Vulnerable. The song also appears on the tour’s compilation album, Take Action! Volume 11.

Check out the video here and find tour dates after the jump.  Don’t forget, you can enter our weekly #FreeTicketFriday contest for a chance to score a free pair of tickets to this show! Continue reading ‘The Used Release ‘The Lonely’ Lyric Video’

Punk Goes Pop 5 has been in stores two weeks and this morning we have the premiere of the first video from the release. Michigan’s We Came As Romans took a quasi-break from their passionate brand of hardcore to tackle The Wanted’s pop hit “Glad You Came” in true mashup fashion. You can view the video below:

If you enjoy We Came As Romans, check out OS artist Lovesick Radio!

This year’s Take Action Tour will be hosting headlining act The Used, along with We Came As Romans, Crown The Empire and Mindflow. The tour will begin in Las Vegas and conclude in Los Angeles. Along with the tour announcement, the track list for Take Action Volume 11 has been released. The album includes rare and unreleased tracks from Bad Religion, The Used, and All Time Low among others. Check out the tour dates and track listing after the jump and let us know what you think of this year’s lineup in the comments.

Continue reading ‘Take Action Tour 2013 Reveals Lineup’

2012 is looking to be a pretty good year for the guys in It Lies Within. Having signed to Luxor Recordings late in 2011 and playing a lot of big shows in the midwest, they are on track to continue this touring trend. This summer they’ll be releasing Chrysalis, which will be their first release with the new label. And in terms of OurStage success, It Lies Within have also been doing consistently well in the metal and hard rock videos channels this year.

Musically comprised of catchy hooks, raucous breakdowns, and meaty riffs, It Lies Within make for a really fun listen. The first single from Chrysalis (“Home Is Where The Heart Is”) is a perfect summation of the sort of things It Lies Within bring in full force. They’ve played shows with bands like All That Remains, We Came As Romans, Times of Grace, War of Ages, Carnifex, Oceano, Within the Ruins, As They Sleep, Chiodos and Asking Alexandria—they’re a great fit with all of these bands, too. It’s time to hop aboard the bandwagon now and enjoy the sweet sounds of their metalcore music. Check out the video for “Home Is Where The Heart Is” below, then go buy some merch and/or the new album!

It’s been ten years since the release of Punk Goes Metal, the first of a nine-disc set of cover compilations released by Fearless Records. Today, the tenth installment in the series, Punk Goes Pop, Volume 3, hits shelves.

Upon first view of the tracklisting, you may be surprised to see which artists appear on this record. While the early Punk Goes… albums featured scene staples like Yellowcard, The Starting Line, Thrice and Taking Back Sunday, Punk Goes Pop, Volume 3‘s lineup includes few artists that the average music listener would know (and certainly no bands that truly qualify as “punk”). The question from here on out, then, is: Can the underdogs pull their weight?

The album starts off with a cover of Jay Sean‘s “Down” by “crunkcore” duo Breathe Carolina. Unfortunately for Breathe Carolina, the very mention of “crunkcore” will be enough to keep many from giving this track a chance.

Crunkcore duo Breathe Carolina open the record with their cover of Jay Sean's "Down"

“Down” does set the tone for most of the record, though, which reflects the hottest trend in pop rock: the electronic-meets-screamo style made famous by bands like Attack Attack! and 3OH!3. If this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, be warned: you probably won’t like most of Punk Goes Pop, Volume 3.

The third track, a cover of Lady Gaga‘s “Bad Romance,” comes to us from OurStage band Artist Vs Poet. Though it’s been covered a million times already, this is a solid version of it and remains very true to the original.

Another highlight of the record is Mayday Parade‘s cover of Jason Derülo‘s “In My Head.” Vocalist Derek Sanders can hit all the high notes without relying on autotune, and the track as a whole is refreshingly straight forward and not overproduced.

We Came As Romans' cover of "My Love" might just give JT a run for his money

After the harmony-laden pop vocals of Sparks the Rescue‘s cover of “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum fade out, you may be caught off-guard by the growls of We Came As Romans vocalist David Stephens. Romans’ cover of “My Love” actually ends the record nicely, though, with clean vocalist Kyle Pavone’s Justin Timberlake-like croon going head-to-head with breakdowns and synth riffs.

Unfortunately, covers do not always do the original song justice (you’ll probably find yourself skipping The Ready Set‘s bland version of B.o.B and Hayley Williams’ “Airplanes”), but if you’re a fan of teen “popcore,” you’re likely to be pleasantly surprised with this collection.

Pick up Punk Goes Pop, Volume 3 in record stores and online today and check out Mayday Parade’s cover of “In My Head” below!

Tracklisting:

1. Breathe Carolina – “Down” (originally recorded by Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne)
2. Woe, Is Me – “Hot ‘N Cold” (originally recorded by Katy Perry)
3. Artist Vs Poet – “Bad Romance” (originally recorded by Lady GaGa)
4. Mayday Parade – “In My Head” (originally recorded by Jason Derülo)
5. Asking Alexandria – “Right Now (Na Na Na)” (originally recorded by Akon)
6. This Century – “Paper Planes” (originally recorded by M.I.A.)
7. The Word Alive – “Heartless” (originally recorded by Kanye West)
8. Family Force 5 – “Bulletproof” (originally recorded by La Roux)
9. Of Mice & Men – “Blame It” (originally recorded by Jamie Foxx ft. T-Pain)
10. Miss May I – “Run This Town” (originally recorded by Jay-Z ft. Kanye West and Rihanna)
11. The Ready Set – “Airplanes” (originally recorded by B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams)
12. Cute Is What We Aim For – “Dead And Gone” (originally recorded by T.I. ft. Justin Timberlake)
13. Sparks The Rescue – “Need You Now” (originally recorded by Lady Antebellum)
14. We Came As Romans – “My Love” (originally recorded by Justin Timberlake ft. T.I.)

We promised you interviews and we deliver. Check out the video below for some cool Q&A’s with a few super hip Bamboozle artists, including VersaEmerge, OurStagers Artist Vs. Poet and, of course, Hanson. Be sure to listen in at 03:19, when Alison asks Hanson for the inside scoop on what their looking for from YOU in the Shout It Out with Hanson competition here on OurStage. Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for Day 2′s coverage. Enjoy!

Below you can find OurStage’s FanCam clips from the stellar live performances over the weekend. From Drake‘s intro to Piebald‘s reunion show, we hope you’ll be jamming as hard as we were.

The weekend of May 1st and 2nd was the annual The Bamboozle festival held at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. OurStage had the opportunity to attend and attain coverage on all the great performances of the weekend as well as interview some up-and-comers and industry heavyweights. Let’s break down both days and give you the scoop on everything that happened behind the scenes!

Day 1
We arrived at the Meadowlands Sports Complex around noon only to see hundreds of concertgoers waiting in line to enter the festival. The view of the grounds from the parking lot was just a small teaser with carnival rides running alongside different sized stages, hundreds of food & beverage vendors and merchandise tents lining the outskirts of the festival. You could feel the energy of the surprisingly diverse and eccentric crowd within the gates just minutes after doors opened. Most years attendees of festivals such as Warped Tour or Bamboozle are of a younger demographic, and while this year was no exception, there were many different types (and ages) of people all there for one reason and one reason alone, the love of music and sharing it with family and friends.

Upon entering the media tent area, we were welcomed by pop-punkers and OurStagers Artist Vs. Poet for the first interview of the day. After meeting these extremely humble and happy bunch we had a feeling the rest of the weekend would follow this path; and it did. We had the opportunity to catch up the trio that make up VersaEmerge mid-way through the day. They had just finished their set and were still pumped from the great crowd response they received that afternoon. Alongside those two great interviews, we got a few words from We Came As Romans, Chiodos and Paper Tongues. Our blogger Internet Warrior also had the special privilege to speak with Chris Youngblood who is the creative director of To Write Love On Her Arms. If you haven’t had the chance or don’t know what TWLOHA is all about, then please visit their Web site and check out their mission statement and help spread the word.

Day 1 was mostly spent interviewing and meeting many young artists as well as a certain group that you may have heard of, Hanson. Alison had the opportunity to get a few words in with Isaac and Zac. Being behind the poles all day, we also got tons of cool footage and photos for you readers, like this shot of Paramore shooting video shorts with silly string.

After the hectic day of interviewing, we were able to catch a few performances to end our night—solid headliners on the Skate and Surf Stage including Angels & Airwaves, Ke$ha and Paramore (to end the night). Right next door was the Sony Bloggie Stage that housed a reunion of Something Corporate and Canada’s hip hop heartthrob Drake, who brought on guests Birdman and 14-year-old Chelsea, a fan in the audience, onstage.

Day 2
From the beginning of the day, the atmosphere was quite different than day 1. Going from a hectic and crazy filled Saturday with tons of high energy in the air to a laid back feeling on Sunday was a great follow up. The headliners that held the down the fort on the Skate and Surf  and the Sony Bloggie Stages consisted of Say Anything, Matt And Kim, MGMT, Mute Math, Girl Talk and Weezer, appealing to the diverse demographic that had been troopers in the heat all weekend.

Day 2 settled down a bit more for us at the OurStage camp, giving us the chance to catch some great live performances of Motion City Soundtrack, Ke$ha (who performed both days), The Morning Of, Mute Math, Matt And Kim, viral video pioneers OK GOo, and a special reunion show by Boston’s Piebald, who we also got a chance to sit down and chat with. Along with a special interview with Piebald, we caught up OurStage artists Lovedrug and Death On Two Wheels along with The Morning Of, who will all be featured in the video we’ll be sharing with you later!

The Bamboozle festival this year brought forth an extremely diverse and eclectic line-up ranging from indie rock and folk singers to heavy hitting hardcore and metal acts to club bumpin’ DJs.  It was a sure hit and gave many different types of people something to enjoy and possibly turn new people onto genres they never gave the time of day before. Just like Blake of VersaEmerge said “Bamboozle is like Warped Tour but crammed into two days making it crazy and just fun.”

Be sure to check back for video footage featuring interviews from Artist Vs. Poet, VersaEmerge, We Came As Romans, Paper Tongues, Chiodos, Death On 2 Wheels, The Morning Of, Piebald, Chris Youngblood of To Write Love On Her Arms, and of course, Hanson.

Were you at The Bamboozle festival this past weekend, too? Tell us about it! We want to hear your experience and any fun stories you may have!